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Monday, July 02, 2012

Former Georgia Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with Other Officers to Assault and Injure Inmates

WASHINGTON – Willie Redden, 24, of
Albany, Ga., a former member of the Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT)
at Macon State Prison in Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty today to conspiring
with other correctional officers to violate the civil rights of inmates in
2010, the Justice Department announced.

In connection with his guilty plea,
Redden admitted that he and other correctional officers assaulted and injured
inmates in separate incidents at Macon State Prison in 2010.Redden indicated that correctional officers
beat these inmates in order to punish them.One inmate was beaten until he was unresponsive and had to be
transported from Macon State Prison in an ambulance.

Redden further acknowledged that he and other
correctional officers tried to cover up CERT’s role in beating and injuring
inmates.Redden stated that more senior
officers told him to write a false report and to stick to their cover story
when speaking with investigators.

“Mr. Redden admitted today that instead of
lawfully carrying out his public safety responsibilities, he conspired with
fellow officers to assault inmates and then cover up those assaults,” said
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez.“The Justice Department will continue to
vigorously prosecute officers who cross the line and engage in criminal
misconduct.”

“When people are incarcerated, the sentence
they are required to serve is their time locked up in prison,” said U.S.
Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Michael J. Moore.“It is not a part of their sentence that they
be subjected to beatings by the correctional officers.The Department of Justice and I share a zero
tolerance policy for those who violate another’s civil rights.”

Redden faces a maximum penalty of five years
in prison.His sentencing date has not
yet been set.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and
is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial
Attorney Tona Boyd of the Civil Rights Division of Department of Justice, with
the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of
Georgia.